Introducing The Glashütte Original Sixties Iconic Square, A Set Of Five Colorful Limited Edition Chronographs (Live Pics + Pricing)

Today in New York, amidst an unexpected but fitting flurry of snow, Glashütte Original debuted a brand new limited edition series of chronographs, the Iconic Sixties Square. The watch comes in five flavors, each with a squared-off cushion case and a bright dial. These are very much in line with what the Sixties collection has been doing for years, but all while offering something a little bit different and new. Here's a first look at the new limited editions, complete with hands-on photos and pricing.

Today in New York, amidst an unexpected but fitting flurry of snow, Glashütte Original debuted a brand new limited edition series of chronographs, the Iconic Sixties Square. The watch comes in five flavors, each with a squared-off cushion case and a bright dial. These are very much in line with what the Sixties collection has been doing for years, but all while offering something a little bit different and new. Here's a first look at the new limited editions, complete with hands-on photos and pricing.

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The Sixties collection is exactly what it sounds like – a line of watches inspired by what Glashütte Original was doing during that pivotal decade under Soviet occupation. The resulting watches have funky curved numerals, svelte cases, and just enough color to make them feel out of the ordinary. These new watches are very much in that vein.

The Sixties Iconic Square "Tangerine."

The Sixties Iconic Square is a two-register chronograph that starts with a 41.35mm-square cushion case in stainless steel. The mushroom pushers flank a grooved crown on the right side (nothing unique there) and the edges of the cushion slope down from where they meet the crystal, giving it a sculptural feel. The dial is very large for the case size, coming in at 41mm itself, so you only get a little bit of metal at the extreme edges. Overall, it's a nice effect.

The Sixties Iconic Square "Forest."

The Sixties Iconic Square "Fire."

These watches are all about the dials though. They come in five different colors, which despite being blue, orange, red, green, and grey, are respectively called Ocean, Tangerine, Fire, Forest, and Graphite. Each has those Sixties numerals at 12 and six, plus a running seconds sub-dial at three o'clock and a 30-minute totalizer at nine o'clock. Both registers are on the large side, which really balances things out nicely.

The Sixties Iconic Square "Ocean."

The colors on the dials are pretty special. They're layered sunburst effects with color fading too, so they have tons of variation as you tilt them and play with the light. The amount of effect varies from color to color, with the orange probably the most dramatic and the blue probably the most sober. The grey dial is entirely different, however. It has a textured treatment that is achieved through a totally different process that involves a stamping procedure in addition to the galvanic treatments and airbrushing. All of these dials are made at GO's own dial manufacture in Pforzheim, Germany.

From the side you can see the domed dial, domed crystal, and curved hands.

If you look at the watch from the side, you can really see the added dimension. Glashütte Original has gone ahead and made these dials domed, adding curved hands and a domed crystal too. The effect is really obvious the moment you're not looking at the watch head-on. In particular, I like the way the crystal bounces light off the dial from unusual angles, showing off the color treatments. This is one of those little things that really makes this watch.

The caliber 39-34 seen through the back of the Sixties Iconic Square.

The movement inside is Glashütte Original's in-house caliber 39-34. This is an automatic chronograph caliber with a 40-hour power reserve. The winding rotor is solid 21k gold with the skeletonized double-G logo and the watch runs in 51 jewels. It's essentially the highest-end version of the base caliber 39 that Glashütte Original makes. I wish it were a column-wheel chronograph, but it does have stop-seconds and a fine adjustment mechanism for the balance, so all is not lost.

A look at the Sixties Iconic Square "Graphite" on the wrist.

To put it lightly, the Sixties Iconic Square is a lot of look. Not everyone is going to find these watches to their taste, nor is everyone going to have the wardrobe and/or swagger to pull of a tangerine sunburst cushion chronograph. That's fine. These are being made in very small numbers and are clearly targeted at a customer who wants something a little funkier and louder. And I think the customers who do get these watches are really going to like them.

Here you can see all five colors of the Sixties Iconic Square side-by-side.

The Glashütte Original Sixties Iconic Square watches are limited edition, with 25 made in each of the five colors (Forest, Ocean, Graphite, Tangerine, and Fire). All five colors retail for the same price of $9,700, and they'll be hitting retailers on February 9. For more, visit Glashütte Original online.